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More than a year after George Floyd’s death, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a series of bills to hold California law enforcement officials accountable for malpractice and restrict the use of force resulting in death and injury.
The eight measures promulgated by Newsom include raising the minimum age of police officers from 18 to 21 and permanently removing their badges for excessive force, dishonesty and racial prejudice.
In addition, the new laws set statewide standards on law enforcement’s use of rubber bullets and tear gas for crowd control, and further restrict the use of techniques. to restrain suspects so as to interfere with breathing.
Newsom’s approval of the list of sweeping new legislation in California contrasts with the lack of progress in police reform efforts in Congress, where bipartisan negotiations over law enforcement accountability measures have recently reached an impasse after months of negotiations.
“I want people not to give up hope, that just because things aren’t happening in Washington, DC, that we can’t move the needle here, not just in our state but in states across the country. “Newsom said at a press conference. emotional signing ceremony Thursday at Rowley Gym in Gardena.
He acknowledged that some communities are on edge in the face of police abuse and the lack of national reform. “I hope that contrasts a bit with this anxiety and fear,” he said of the package of new laws.
The governor was joined at the ceremony by several lawmakers and the state’s Atty. General Rob Bonta, as well as the tearful family members of those who died at the hands of the police.
Law enforcement groups have opposed some of the state’s measures, warning they would undermine officers’ ability to protect Californians from criminals. But a group of progressive prosecutors, including Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón, has supported changes they believe will address the injustice of the law, especially for people of color.
“The California legislature has taken significant steps to address the deep injustices in our criminal justice system,” said Cristine Soto DeBerry, executive director of the Attorneys Alliance of California, the group of progressive district attorneys. “These bills will help get problematic police off the streets. “
Lawmakers were responding to concerns over incidents such as Floyd’s murder in May 2020, which occurred when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest.
The death led to international protests calling for police accountability and the conviction of a policeman for murder.
“We are currently in a crisis of confidence in law enforcement,” Bonta said, adding that the new laws will bring “more trust, more transparency and more accountability.”
The ceremony took place in a park where Kenneth Ross Jr. was shot and killed by a police officer three years ago. State Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) cited the loss of life at the hands of “rogue police”. Bills signed by the governor include a Bradford measure that allows life decertification of law enforcement officers convicted of misconduct.
Bradford said the bill was necessary because police officers who are fired or resign due to misconduct will sometimes go to work for other law enforcement agencies.
Senate Bill 2 “establishes a fair and balanced way of holding officers who break public trust accountable for their actions and not just moving to a new department,” Bradford said.
California joins 46 other states that have procedures to prevent abusive agents from transferring jobs.
The Bradford Bill allows the 17-member State Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to investigate and suspend or revoke the certification of peace officers based on the recommendation an advisory committee made up largely of citizens appointed by the governor.
More than three dozen groups representing police officers, including the California Police Chiefs Assn., Opposed the bill, saying the measure exposes police officers to double punishment with overly broad definitions of what constitutes wrongdoing and involves a potentially biased panel without law enforcement expertise.
“SB 2 simply requires that the individual officer ‘have’ committed ‘serious misconduct – not that they have been convicted, fired or even punished,” the chiefs said in a letter to lawmakers.
The governor also signed Assembly Bill 89, which raises the minimum age for police recruits from 18 to 21 and calls on state colleges to offer a modern police diploma program to new police officers in the ‘by 2025. Assembly Member Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles) said Thursday his legislation “builds on decades of data showing that more mature, better-educated officers are less dependent on a force excessive “.
He said the higher education curriculum being developed will equip officers with the skills to defuse situations, “while ensuring that they develop a critical understanding of the history of communities of diverse origins.” .
The law was challenged by the Peace Officers’ Research Assn. of California, which represents 77,000 public safety officers in the state and said any new standards should be phased in and “accommodate those underprivileged who want a career in law enforcement.”
Newsom also said he is signing AB 48, a measure that deals with complaints over the past year of protests over law enforcement cases, including the murder of Floyd. Activists said they were injured when police inappropriately fired rubber bullets at crowds of peaceful protesters.
MP Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) Bill Sets State-Wide Standards for Law Enforcement Use of Rubber Bullets and Tear Gas for Crowd Control . The law requires that law enforcement officers be trained in the safe use of kinetic projectiles and chemical agents and other de-escalation techniques before using projectile weapons.
The bill also prohibits aiming these weapons at the head, neck or other vital organs.
“During the 2020 nationwide protests, numerous reports showed peaceful protesters and passers-by were seriously injured, if not permanently maimed, by dangerous projectiles,” Gonzalez said. “This bill will protect the right of Californians to safely protest by setting statewide standards that help minimize the overuse of these dangerous weapons.”
The governor also acted to expand last year’s law banning the use of strangles by law enforcement.
AB 490 prohibits law enforcement from authorizing restraint techniques and methods of transportation that involve a substantial risk of positional asphyxiation – by placing a person in a way that compresses the airways and reduces their capacity to maintain adequate breathing.
Assembly Member Mike Gipson (D-Carson) said his bill addresses cases in which officers seeking to restrain civilians have knelt on their necks in a way that prevents them from breathing.
The governor also signed AB 26, which requires law enforcement to adopt stricter policies requiring officers to intercede when they see a colleague using excessive force and immediately report the incident.
The measure provides that an officer who receives training in use of force practices and who does not intercede may be sanctioned up to and including the same penalty as the officer who committed excessive force.
Assembly member Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) said he introduced the legislation after Floyd’s murder was seen by other officers who did not intervene.
“While the public was outraged by the supervisory officer’s contempt for Floyd’s life, what was equally disturbing was that the other three officers failed to stop the supervisory officer, despite Minnesota’s duty to intervene law, ”Holden said.
The measure was challenged by the California Assn. Highway Patrolmen, who said he was involved two years ago in a task force that negotiated changes in use of force policies that require intervention.
The association said in a letter to lawmakers that officers who arrive late at the scene of an arrest and see officers fighting a suspect on the ground may not have enough information about what happened. to know whether to intercede.
“The arriving officer may not know that the suspect has a weapon, or has potentially used or attempted to use that weapon on officers prior to their arrival at the scene,” the highway patrol group said. “Without the arriving officer having full knowledge of the situation, the intervention of that officer could be dangerous both for the officers and for the public.
Other new laws approved by Newsom expand the types of police personnel files subject to public disclosure to include those involving sustained charges of excessive force and wrongful arrests, and call for more transparency for law enforcement agencies laws that acquire military materiel, including a mandate to adopt public policy.
The governor also signed into law a requirement that police departments adopt policies prohibiting officers from participating in law enforcement “gangs”.
Assembly member Gipson’s AB 958 is backed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which has come under fire for allegations that gang-like cliques of MPs exist in its ranks, even though the agency has a policy against such activity.
“These are groups that celebrate excessive force, resist reform and discriminate against other officers,” Gipson said. “How can we expect an officer to ensure the public safety of our communities when that officer is pressured within his own department to join a gang of police?” “
The torrent of criminal justice bills this year has signaled that state-elected leaders are listening to public concerns, according to DeBerry, the head of the prosecutors alliance.
“The actions of the Legislature reflect the will of the voters of California who have made it clear time and time again that they support reforms that promote racial justice and fairness,” DeBerry said.
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